Hello from Indonesia, my last country before heading back to the United States! Indonesia is made up of thousands of volcanic islands and my team was on the Sumatra Island. You may have heard of it if you are a fan of Sumatra coffee from Starbucks. It’s currently winter in Indonesia, which means its rainy season. The climate is tropical so it’s very hot and humid even in the rainy season. Many languages are spoken in Indonesia, but Bahasa Indonesia is the main language. The currency is the Indonesian Rupiah that has an exchange rate of $13,000 to $1 USD. Islam is the main religion in Indonesia and there are mosques everywhere. The call to prayer happens five times a day over a loudspeaker. It’s not illegal to be Christian in Indonesia, but the government makes life harder for Christians.
This month my team partnered with Indonesia Elim Christian Church in Medan, Indonesia where they are bringing God’s Kingdom in hearts, homes and beyond. Their mission is to Focus on God, Focus on the Church and Focus on the Lost Soul. William Carey School of World Missions, a Bible college, is on the church property too. There are many branches of Elim church around the Sumatra Island; ranging from the larger cities to very small villages.
There were a lot of different ministry opportunities this month including evangelism, children’s ministry, church ministry and community outreach. We visited homes in villages, hospitals and a university. We handed out brochures, prayed over the sick and interacted with the locals. My team visited a lot of different schools where we taught moral lessons, Bible lessons and English. We sang songs, ran camps and played games. We got to do this in various villages and in our own neighborhood. We helped at the church by teaching Sunday school, preaching, sharing testimonies, helping with the youth group (young adults), leading the English Sunday evening service and helping out with worship. We also helped lead cell groups (small group Bible studies) in various member’s homes. It was a busy month doing a lot of different ministries.
My team was really welcomed into the community and quickly became part of it. We may have only been with our hosts for 3 weeks, but it felt like we’ve been friends for years. We got to work with a lot of young adults this month, which was a blessing. It was a lot of fun working alongside men and women my age who are working to share the gospel in their own community and country. We got to share our experiences and wisdom with one another and we were able to learn from and encourage each other.
This month my team lived on the church property in an extra room. We had mattresses and air-conditioning, which were both huge blessings. We shared two bathrooms with the Bible college students that contained a squatty potty and bucket showers. We hand-washed our clothes, but sometimes we splurged and paid for our clothes to get washed at a local business. Our host, Naomi, cooked delicious meals for us this month. We ate rice, fish, chicken with Indian spices, stir fry, fried noodles, tofu and chapathi. Our hosts were Indian so we got to eat a lot of Indian food and learn a lot about the Indian culture.
One of my favorite memories from this month was hanging out with members of the church, especially my friends Jhon, Sammy, Ruth and my 5- year old friend Hosana. We laughed a lot, played music together and danced. Little Hosana loved being spun around, dancing, playing tea party with her stuffed animals and having her hair braided. I had my first ride on a moto, the main form of transportation, this month and I had a lot of fun riding on it. My favorite ministry memories include praying over Selin, a young 30- year old man who was paralyzed in a car crash, visiting a woman’s birthing hospital and the NICU, sharing parts of my testimony with the church and helping lead worship for the English service.
This month was the epitome of a World Race month; the living conditions, being stretched, being part of the local community, limited internet, eating local food, helping with various ministries, making friends with local vendors and neighbors, etc. It was an awesome month that wrapped up the year very well. I couldn’t have asked for a better final month. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and allowed growth all the way to the end.
The end of the World Race has come. This month was full of hard goodbyes, which is the start of many goodbyes to come. My team is heading to Bali for a few days to have final debrief with the rest of my squad. Please continue to keep me and my team in your prayers as we say goodbye to one another, travel home and transition back to the American culture.
